“It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”
1 Peter 1:12 (RSV)
Peter sums up our salvation history, calling it the good news, “things into which, angels long to look.” Since angels long to look into our salvation, it must be an amazing phenomenon to them.
Angels are given the power to do anything, except experience grace first hand. They don’t know what it’s like to personally receive mercy and forgiveness as we human beings do. That’s why they get so excited to observe us, as Jesus once said that angels rejoice and celebrate in Heaven, whenever one person repents. (Luke 15:10)
If we ignore the extraordinary truths about angels, we would have to ignore 294 scripture verses about them throughout old and new testaments.
There were angels present at every critical moment in Jesus’ life. They appeared to Joseph and Mary before His birth as well as when He was born. Matthew 4:11 tells us angels were with Jesus during His temptations in the desert. Scripture also says they were with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, at His empty tomb, and at His ascension into Heaven. They will also be with Him at His second coming for the final judgement.
These created beings never die, having one sole purpose, to serve and worship God. They serve God by protecting and guiding each one of us, from womb to tomb. Every human person has an angel appointed to them for a lifetime, to do whatever is necessary to lead them to Heaven. Angels might be one of the least appreciated gifts God has given us.
Scripture hints that 1/3 of angels once rebelled, and fell from Heaven, led by Satan, which Jesus described watching. (Luke 10:18)
There’s an entire world of invisible spirits around us, consisting of angels and demons. Fallen angels may have their own agenda, to steer the world away from faith and distract people from the love of God, but the other 2/3 of angels are still working for our good. Since God has the heart of a Father and the nature of a good Shepherd, His angels are always on mission to bring all of humanity back home to Him.
At times, it may look like evil is achieving its goal in the world, but good overcomes evil. The effect of evil is just more visible to our eyes, while good is constantly working behind the scenes. Just as the crucifixion appeared to be an act of evil, it bore the fruit of redemption for the world, by giving us victory over death, and promises eternal life with Him. Even when things look bad, good is at work behind the scenes, to bring glory to God, and many souls to Heaven.
God’s Spirit, which dwells in us, is another underestimated power of good in this world. Our prayers can move mountains, we can speak for the helpless and we have a host of angelic helpers who go with us in all we do. The more we realize how angels are here to help us, the more we can reach our full potential. Scripture tells us that angels will sometimes disguise themselves as helpful strangers. (Hebrews 13:2)
Regular people can also be like angels to us, by doing or saying the right things at the right time in our most vulnerable moments.
God may even use a pet to be our angel. I recently heard a true story of a man who was asleep when his dog began jumping on his chest. It turns out the man was having a heart attack while sleeping. Somehow his dog detected it and quickly woke him up. He called paramedics and his life was saved because of a little dog named Champ, who God used as the angel to save his life that day.
Lord, thank you for the gift of angels, in whatever form you send them to us. Help us by your grace to reach our full potential in being angels for others and to keep receiving help from the angels you send us. Amen
(man with his dog, Champ)

(Man with his dog Champ)